


Protagonist

by yawoozyalose



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9601040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yawoozyalose/pseuds/yawoozyalose
Summary: Jihoon is gifted a strange book with a mysterious protagonist.





	

Another fan moved in front of Jihoon. She smiled at him softly and presented a book with a polite bow before moving onto the next member. He had a moment to flip through it, noticing the pages were blank. He was given a journal. A nice one at that, bound in what felt like genuine leather. He didn’t have time to pour over the quality as more fans queued up.

After the group had run through their schedule and returned to their dorm, Jihoon decided to inaugurate the journal with his first entry. He settled in the studio’s chair, journal cover opened revealing paragraphs of text had appeared in the first page as if they’d been neatly typed. Jihoon was entirely certain they hadn’t been there before. Jihoon began skipping pages, noticing each one glanced at was filled. When he finally found a blank page, it was populated progressively line by line until it was filled and started on the next page.

However startled he was by the book being written before his eyes, he read the contents.

_He continues chewing and follows the swallow of food with a sip of water. His phone is hidden beneath the table, out of sight of his friends as he switches back and forth between tabs of softcore pornography and innocuous images of animals._

Of what Jihoon read, the content seemed a little inane. While that should have calmed him, there was a sense of intrusion as he read about the protagonist’s dinner.

Jihoon returned to the first page as a hope for more insight. He found no name to the protagonist of the ongoing story. Only “he”s, and vague details in place of location or time. There was a sick feeling, that perhaps these were the details of someone’s life before their untimely death. Or murder, Jihoon realized.

Great. He was given a haunted book. Wary, he shut the book and shoved it between the wall and desk.

He had planned to forget it, but before he left the studio he tugged the book out. He cracked it open to the most recent page once he sat in bed, only to find it was detailing a dream. Perhaps the book was being told in real time, given that the protagonist had been eating dinner in a time where Jihoon normally would’ve eaten and was sleeping at a time Jihoon normally would’ve slept.

Though that wasn’t what had struck him the most. The dream was sexual, but given the nature of using vague pronouns he couldn’t tell what was happening to who. All he could surmise was that it was two men’s foreplay that the subject dreamt about.

_He set his hands on either hip, knelt and closed his mouth around a nipple and sucked it into his mouth. He bucked beneath him, grinding into his thigh._

And despite being slightly terrified, and despite not being quite sure what was going on he was becoming aroused. Though masturbating over the haunted book didn’t seem right. He closed it and forced himself to sleep.

He opened it again that morning as he sat at breakfast. The protagonist was no longer dreaming, as the book detailed the man in question eating breakfast and speaking to what Jihoon imagined were roommates based on such casual talk between them. Jihoon initially assumed the subject was young, but him having roommates cemented the idea in Jihoon’s mind. A young Korean man, just like Jihoon.

Jihoon started getting wild ideas, that this book detailed its current victim and once the protagonist was claimed Jihoon would be next. He pulled the book away from him as he fretted.

But if that were the case, the man was living out his life despite not being in possession of the book so if Jihoon were to die anyway there was no reason to stop reading.

Just as he planned to continue reading, a hand on his shoulder startled him and caused the book to fall off the table. Jihoon sucked in a breath, turned and saw Wonwoo with a smile that was both amused and apologetic.

His junior picked the book up off the floor and handed it back, but not without a glance at one of its pages.

“Sorry, Jihoon.”

“It’s alright. Just scared me.”

Wonwoo smiled softly, squeezed Jihoon’s shoulder. “I’m guessing it’s horror, then? I usually don’t see you read.”

“A fan gave it to me,” Jihoon answered. To dissuade Wonwoo from any interest, he quickly added, “It’s not very good, honestly.”

“Yeah?” Wonwoo chuckled. “Now that fans know I like reading they give me books all the time. They misunderstand my taste often too.”

“At this rate, you could build your own library.”

“Maybe.” With that, Wonwoo decided to go off and speak to Seungcheol.

While he and Wonwoo weren’t particularly close, they often conversed. Jihoon couldn’t seem to overlook the unusual exchange. It was as if Wonwoo had something to say but had decided against it. Though after another glance at the book in his hands he realized he might have been a little paranoid.

Jihoon decided not to take the book out in public anymore. He typically reserved opening it for the studio, and after days of keeping up with as much as he could a lot of the eeriness waned.

Maybe it wasn’t about a death to come, and once Jihoon allowed himself to think in that way he grew more fascinated by the subject of the book. Was there a special reason the protagonist was the protagonist? Was there a special reason Jihoon had been selected to receive the book?

There was a sneaking suspicion that the protagonist was a fellow idol. There was often talk of music and dancing. Jihoon waited until after a show performance to confirm it. Even though the show was only referred as an “engagement” or “event”, many of the rather vague descriptions matched up with everything he’d seen at the stage studio. A mention of acknowledging a crowd, of waiting, of being attended.

So it was among one of the currently performing male idols. Every time he passed another male idol Jihoon couldn’t help but be curious if that was his protagonist.

That night the mystery idol had masturbated. And while the music show was described in the broadest possible terms, his masturbation was painstakingly detailed down to the man’s thoughts. A clear image of another man, everything given but his name. It wasn’t hard to figure out this man was fantasizing about Jihoon based on the description.

So then what was this book? Perhaps a book of fate, something so great that Jihoon hardly believed he deserved such knowledge. Though he was nonetheless grateful for such a gift. If he ever saw that mysterious fan again, he’d thank her.

He was also extremely flattered that there was someone who thought of him intimately, which fueled his desire to know just who the protagonist was.

He resolved to be more observant during filming for the next broadcast, trying to discreetly read the book while he observed his peers around the station. None of the other group’s actions had matched those of his book’s protagonist, and while that had him annoyed and mulling over it throughout their filming, an idea popped into Jihoon’s head on their way home.: What if it was someone in his own group? He wasn’t so sure why he dismissed the idea in the first place. It was no less unusual than the idea of such a book existing to begin with.

That led to a plan of stalking his members, narrowing them down one by one. Devoting an entire day to each one. He decided to go in order from oldest to youngest.

On day three, when he planned to watch Joshua, he’d been catching up with a little of the book.

_He walks with purpose, down the hallway. He breathes before reaching for the doorknob._

The door opened. Wonwoo stepped into the bedroom.

Jihoon put two and two together, and quickly decided to put a test together.. “Hey Wonwoo, nice outfit. Can you turn around?”

“Oh, thanks. Sure.” Wonwoo spun to show off his outfit. Jihoon then glanced at the page and noticed the book detailed just that, down to the dialogue.

Jihoon had found his man. He handed the book to Wonwoo. “I want you to read this while I speak to you.”

Wonwoo nodded, staring at the pages.

“Do you understand what you’re looking at?”

Startled, the book nearly fell from Wonwoo’s hands. “Is this a prank?” His eyes bugged as he read, likely worried by his own words appearing.

“I’ve been trying to figure out who this book is about for a while now. It’s about you, Wonwoo.”

“So this isn’t a prank?”

“I really don’t know what it is, but I know it’s real. I’ve been reading it for the past few weeks, collecting clues on who it was about. I thought it would be another week before I figured it out.”

“Oh,” Wonwoo added, clearly not understanding.

“Look through it yourself. See what I mean.” So he watched as Wonwoo flipped around, speed-read a few pages and came to a grim understanding.

“Oh,” Wonwoo said again, this time with weight. He looked warily at Jihoon.

“I know, Wonwoo.”

He heard Wonwoo’s quiet gulp, a visible struggle to speak. “I’m sorry.”

Jihoon licked his lips. He intended to plan what he would say once he found his protagonist, but he was put unexpectedly on the spot. “No, no, don’t be sorry. I just want to know if what you thought is just- do you like me? Like have feelings for me, not just fantasize about me.”

Wonwoo tapped his foot on the ground. “Does it make a difference?”

“A world of difference depending on what you’re looking for.”

Hesitantly, he asked, “Would you want me?”

“I thought I’d have to give it some thought once I figured it out.” Jihoon laughed, leaned in to bump arms. “But I want you, Wonwoo.”

“Then, I have feelings for you.” Wonwoo turned stared openly at Jihoon’s mouth. He leaned in, pressing their mouths together in a soft kiss.

Jihoon tossed the book away and wrapped his arms behind Wonwoo’s neck.

The next and final time Jihoon opened the book, every page was blank as if it had always been. It almost urged a laugh out of him. So he left it in the living area, hoping whatever member that picked it up would find his own protagonist.

**Author's Note:**

> spoiler: it's a soulmate story


End file.
